Grandma

Today it has been exactly one year since my grandma Ilith Ingebretson passed away. I miss her so much. It’s weird that it’s already been a year, and that it’s now normal not to have her around. I don’t like that idea. For most of my life she was always there, and life just isn’t the same without her!

At the same time I am very glad that she did not have to suffer from physical pain very long at the end of her life, and that she didn’t have to spend too much time in a nursing home (which she hated, but she became paralyzed from the waist down and we couldn’t care for her at home anymore).

Grandma had a good, full life. She went through her share of hard times, but she was also very fortunate — and we were fortunate to have her! She was feisty and determined, with an awesome sense of humor, and extremely smart. She had a strong faith in God and loved her family more than anything else on earth, I think. She lived her life the way I want to live mine.

I was looking for a specific picture of me and her, but I couldn’t find it, so this one will work.

My twin sister Anna, Grandma and me.

The picture is taken on her porch (or “deck” as she called it) which overlooked her little yard. That was one of her favorite places to be in the spring and summer. I would come over to visit often and she would make coffee or the legendary Crystal Light and grab some of her homemade cookies out of the freezer, and we’d sit on the deck in the sunshine and enjoy our afternoon coffee.

Those were some of the best days of my life.

If I could have a conversation with her right now, I would tell her that all her family is doing well, because that would be the first thing she would want to hear. She would tease me about moving to Virginia or something like that, and I’d tease her right back. I would accidentally start complaining about something, and she would cut me off right away with something like “Now Bethany, you should just be GLAD you HAVE a ROOF over your HEAD!!” or something of the sort. (Grandma was not the whining type, and she didn’t have much tolerance for it.) Then I would ask for her recipe for rhubarb sauce, because I can’t find it, and I really want to make it the way she did.

She was the best grandma ever. I’m so thankful for the many things she did for me, especially the great memories she gave me of time spent with her. Even if it was just cookies and coffee on the deck on a spring afternoon. Those “little” things are what I remember the most, and I know they’ll stick with me for the rest of my life.

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Hello and welcome to my home on the web. I blog from my small but cozy apartment in Virginia Beach, VA where I live with my husband, Ben. Here you'll find a little bit of everything from my home - thoughts, recipes, funny stories, design inspiration, and the occasional knock-knock joke. Make yourself at home...